If we are a 11 seed this year we will likely be an underdog in every NCAA tournament game we play. I decided to check JB’s record when his team had a lower seed.
1977: The tournament was not seeded yet but we were surely underdogs when we faced Tennessee’s Ernie and Bernie Show in Baton Rouge and beat them 93-88 in OT. 1-0
1983: We were a 6 seed when we lost, 74-79, to 3 seed Ohio State, (whom we’d beaten 91-85 in the Dome three months before). Bald-headed Granville “Granny” Waiters dunked in a couple of follow shots to close us out. 1-1
1985: As a 7 seed we lost to 2 seed Georgia Tech 53-70. 1-2
1987: As a 2 seed, we beat 1 seed North Carolina 79-75. Take that Dickie V! Then we lost to 1 seed Indiana in the final 73-74. Curse you, Keith Smart! 2-3
1989: As a 2 seed we lose to 1 seed Illinois in the regional final, 86-89. Sherman Douglas’ last game and the Illni beat us with alley oops! 86-89. 2-4
1992: As a 6 seed we lost to 3 seed Massachusetts 71-77 in OT. I recall a late out-bounds call that went against us that the refs later admitted they blew. Thanks. 2-5
1994: As a 4 seed we lose to 1 seed Missouri 88-98 in OT. The refs disallow a shot Adrian Autry made from the floor. 2-6
1995: As a 7 seed we lose to 2 seed, (and defending national champion) Arkansas, we again lose in overtime, 94-96. We would have won it if Lawrence Moten, in his last game, hadn’t called a time out we didn’t have. 2-7
1996: We finally win an overtime game – over Georgia, 83-81. We were a 4 seed, they were an 8. We then knocked off 2 seed Kansas in the regional final 60-57. We beat a 5 seed, Mississippi State, in the national semi-finals and then lost to 1 seed Kentucky 67-76 in the final. 3-8
1998: We were a 5 seed and New Mexico a 4 seed when we beat them 56-46. Then we lost to 1 seed Duke 67-80 in the Sweet 16. We were in a bracket with Duke, Kentucky and UCLA! 4-9
2000: As a 4 seed we took on 1 seed and defending national champion Michigan State in their back yard and built up a 40-26 second half lead. Then they solved the zone and scored the last 17 points of the game to win 58-75. 4-10
2001: As a 5 seed we lost to 4 seed Kansas 58-87. We got crushed on the boards and Kansas looked like a potential national champion…until they lost to Illinois by 16. The Illini looked like a potential national champion….until they lost to Arizona by 6. Arizona looked like a potential national champions…until they lost to Duke by 10. Were we 61 points worse than Duke? 4-11
2003: We were a 3 seed and beat 1 seed Oklahoma 63-47, 1 seed Texas 95-84 and 2 seed Kansas 81-78 for the national championship. 7-11
2004: We were a 5 seed and beat 4 seed Maryland 72-70. It was a battle of the schools that had won the last two national championships. 8-11
2009: We were a 3 seed when we lost to 2 seed Oklahoma and Blake Griffin 71-84. 8-12
2013: We were a 4 seed when we crushed 1 seed Indiana 61-50 and 3 seed Marquette 55-39. We lost to Michigan, also a 4 seed, in the Final Four. 10-12
2016: We were a 10 seed when we gained revenge on Dayton, who had beaten us in 2014, 70-51. Middle Tennessee State was a 15 seed and Gonzaga an 11 seed, (which surprises me),, so those weren’t upsets. But the 68-62 win over 1 seed Virginia sure was. The coach turned into a pumpkin vs. another 1 seed, North Carolina in the Final Four. (He later turned back into a human.) 12-13
2018: After beating fellow 11 seed Arizona State 60-56, we knocked off 6 seed Texas Christian 57-52 in the round of 64 and 3 seed Michigan State 55-53 in the round of 32 before almost beating 2 seed Duke in the sweet 16. 14-14
That’s right, JB has a winning record as an underdog in the NCAA tournament and is 10-2 since 2003!
He is 60-33 overall, (don’t tell the NCAA who has him 56-33). So as a favorite, he’s 46-19. He’s been upset 29% of the time but has pulled off the upset 50% of the time.
